Modeling and Simulation of Shale Fracture Attitude

A large number of natural fractures are distributed in shale gas reservoirs. In-depth studying of the attitude of fractures is of great significance for the efficient development of shale gas. In previous studies, the complex three-dimensional discrete fracture networks (DFNs) and transport mechanisms were often not fully considered. In this study, the fully coupled multimechanism transport model and the complex discrete fracture networks (DFNs) model are developed to incorporate these complexities. The comprehensive transport model can couple multiple mechanisms such as slippage, diffusion, adsorption, and dissolution of shale gas. Moreover, the mechanisms of two-phase flow, reservoir deformation, real gas effect, and fracture closure are also considered. The three-dimensional DFN model can flexibly characterize the fracture attitudes, which means that the construction of the discrete fracture network is easier and faster. Under these frameworks, a series of partial differential equations (PDEs) were derived to describe transport mechanisms of shale gas in the shale fracture-matrix system. These PDEs were numerically discretized and solved by the finite element method. The proposed models are verified against gas production data from the field and validated against others' solutions. This study numerically simulates the influence of different fracture attitudes on shale gas transport and analyzes the sensitivity of the model. The results and sensitivity analysis reveal that both fracture dip angle and strike direction will significantly affect the gas production, and the smaller the angle between the strike direction and the flow direction, the higher the shale gas production. The length, density, area, and shape of fractures also play important roles in shale gas transport. There is an ideal fracture density in the fracture network, and the suggested excessive fracturing is not economic. The shale fracture-matrix system modeling and simulation methods can improve the development of shale gas reservoirs and increase the gas production of wells.